Jason Gaboriau
Co-Founder Illicit Elixirs
Tell me about your time in advertising. How did you get started and why did you leave?
I was in advertising for about 30 years. (Wow, that seems like such a long time now that I say it out loud!) It went by very quickly.
I really started to “get into” advertising when I was at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. I was studying Fashion Design and not feeling settled… and there was a group of folks in the year above me who got me so excited about being an art director in advertising. I didn’t even know that was a job. It was such an ah-ha moment for me that this was what I was meant to do. They were the best teachers I ever had. They knew all the Ad agencies. Who the best creatives were. They introduced me to Award show annuals.
I got my first job at Chiat Day NY when I was 20 years old and I never looked back.
From those early days on I absolutely loved my time in advertising. I was very very very fortunate to work at some of the best ad agencies in the world and do lots of award winning work. I started my own ad agency, Amalgamated, when I was in my 30’s. That was a blast. Then I moved to LA and ran two ad agencies out there.
During Covid my wife and I were having our third baby so we decided to move to MN and work remotely.
Of my 30 years in advertising I would say I loved 28 of them. As the industry started to change and the culture within the ad agency started to change I found myself feeling more and more frustrated.
I didn’t decide to leave the industry, that was decided for me. It didn’t matter how successful I was at winning business and winning awards. I couldn’t find a job. I didn’t “fit the brief” anymore.
I have never sat idly by, so I decided to go out on my own again. I didn't set out to start a brand, I was actually thinking of starting my own agency in MN. I wanted to create what is called a “Creative Venture” studio. That is an agency that works with early stage startups for equity plus cash. Everyone told me to just start my own brand. I just didn't have an idea that I felt was big enough.
Then I did.
What are you doing now?
Right now I am the Co-Founder, CMO of Illicit Elixirs. Illicit Elixirs is a fun, fruity, fizzy, functional beverage brand that supports dopamine production.
How did the idea for Illicit Elixirs come about?
After being “dismissed” from my job at Doner LA I started freelancing again as a creative. I LOVED IT. I LOVED just being creative again and thinking of ideas. That energy of just being creative made me love advertising again. One of the projects I was working on was an innovations project for a beverage brand. The original idea is very different from Illicit Elixirs but that was the spark.
One day I was out walking my dog in my new MN neighborhood when my VC entrepreneur neighbor asked what I was working on. (The neighbors all think advertising is still cool). I told him the idea. His face lit up… and he was the one that really made me think about creating a brand and going for it.
What was your first step in starting Illicit Elixirs?
The first step was putting a presentation together. One slide at a time. Coming from advertising I make presentations for a living. I know how to tell a story from slide to slide. I know how to make it look amazing and fun.
My partner John Valiton really helped me understand what investors wanted to see. I used all my advertising powers to make it like something they would never forget.
Our first meeting was a week after telling him the idea to the President of a large bougie Vegas casino. He loved the idea and wanted to launch the brand in his casino. We couldn’t believe it. We were glowing.
From there we went and raised a friends and family round of funding.
With that money we engaged designers to create labels and a Formulary to help us make the liquid.
While that was all being created we went around to more and more folks from retail to convenience stores to show them the idea and learn as quickly as possible.
The more people we showed Illicit Elixirs to, the more excited we got that we had something that had a chance.
SAGE ADVICE: For anyone thinking of starting their own brand… GO TO EVERY TRADE SHOW. Going to conventions and trade shows has been so tremendously valuable. You will meet everyone you need to meet and learn more than you can possibly imagine. Wear comfy shoes ← FACTS
What struggles did you have? Did you have ideas that failed?
We have been very fortunate with this idea to not really have many “failures”. We have hit some production realities that are outside our control, but we haven’t had to pivot off the original idea at all.
To me the real risk would be staying in advertising. Taking a job beneath my talents. Continuing to work in an industry that doesn’t value what I bring to the table. So why continue to bang my head against a wall and feel shitty about myself?
Starting a brand at this time in my career is an absolute advantage. Other founders do not have my marketing experience. They don’t have my deep category knowledge. They don't have the connections I have to execute. They don’t have my creative ability to pivot if I need to. Age, wisdom, experience, hard work, hustle, CREATIVE… those things are valued in the startup world.
Did you have help along the way?
Yes, a lot of help.
Mostly from my partner and Co-Founder who knows what it takes to bring a product to shelf. He does everything I had no idea I needed to know or do.
To bring Illicit Elixir brand to life I used / am using all my creative contacts in the design world to help concept and create breakthrough work.
Did you ever consider giving up?
Not once. I am loving life.
What would you do differently if you did it again?
I would have left advertising 10 years ago and done what I am doing now.
What advice do you wish you had before you started?
I wish I had saved more money. Money and Time. Time and Money.
What's the single biggest mistake you made in doing this?
No big mistakes to speak of, and certainly striving to keep it that way.
A big mistake would have been NOT trying this. I’d be miserable. My family would hate me. I am loving life right now.
What is the single most important thing that contributed to your success?
My “Bias Towards Action”. It has been clear to me that really that ability to not sit and sulk when things weren’t going my way. To get my ass up, roll up my sleeves and do the work has been my single greatest advantage in life. There are folks with a lot more talent but I am happy that I am unafraid to pivot and just go for it.
Do you miss your old life?
I do not.